Daily informal observation and monitoring provide Mrs. Quinney information about her students' strengths, weaknesses, needs, and progress. These assessments allow Mrs. Quinney to adjust lessons, provide additional practice as needed, and plan for Workshop.

Individual progress with phonics activities is likely to vary among students. Therefore, Mrs. Quinney observes them closely as she conducts activities, noting differences among them. This information helps her develop instructional plans for individuals and small groups of students. To make informal observation an easy and regular part of your classroom routine, you might want to do the following:

• Use the Observation Log below or create your own recording device.
  
  

Click here to view the Observation Log: Reading

• Before beginning an activity or lesson, decide which students you want to observe.
• Decide which aspects of the students' learning you want to observe.
• Keep the logs nearby, and record notes as appropriate. For example, you might answer the following questions:
  • - Are all students catching on to the activities?
  • - Are some activities more difficult than others? (Are the discrimination activities, for example, easier for the students than the blending activities?)
• Over several days, observe each student in the class. It is not necessary to collect information about every student every day.
• Make notes to document differences between students and activities.